“Ready?” Logan asked.
“You know me,” she replied.
Logan exited the Landie and raised his rifle to his shoulder. His aim was ruthless at such a short distance, and each shot felled a zombie. One, two, three, four. Then they were too close, and he ripped a machete from its sheath at his side.
He lost himself in the rhythm of chopping, cutting, and slicing, closely followed by the stabbing whirlwind that was Nadia. The rasping groans of the undead surrounded them, and he pressed his back to hers.
“Just like old times, hey?” he said with a laugh.
“I never forgot,” she replied.
A loud yell signaled the arrival of two more people, and together they fought the infected, dropping one after the other until none remained. When the last zombie fell silent, Logan straightened up and sucked in a deep breath. Nadia flashed him a grin, and they turned as one to face the newcomers.
Logan eyed the two before him, surprised to find they were teens, or at most, young adults. A boy and a girl. “Who are you?”
They exchanged a look before the girl stepped forward and stuck out her hand. “Hi, I’m Dee. This is Aiden. Thanks for helping us out. We really appreciate it.”
“No problem,” Logan replied, shaking her slender hand before moving on to the boy who was a little older. “I’m Logan, and this is Nadia.”
“Are you okay?” Nadia asked. “Do you need anything?”
Dee hesitated, exchanging another significant look with her companion. While he looked like the clean-cut type, she reminded him a lot of Nadia with her piercings and edgy style. Another firecracker.
Logan sensed their uncertainty and said, “Look, we’re not robbers or murderers. If you want help, just ask. We’ll do our best.”
“Actually,” Aiden said, stepping forward, “we do need your assistance.”
“How so?”
“Well, we could use a lift.”
“No, problem,” Logan said. “Get in the Landie.”
“Thanks, let me get our stuff,” Aiden replied.
Nadia and Dee squeezed into the front, while Logan opened the back for Aiden. He watched with a perplexed frown as the boy fetched a car battery from the boot of their broken down vehicle. It was big, the kind used for buses and so on. He said nothing, though, and let the boy climb in.
The trip passed in an uncomfortable silence. The only words uttered were those by Dee when she gave directions. It was always tough meeting new people, he reflected, and the zombie apocalypse hadn’t changed that one bit.
When they reached the turnoff, he decided to break the stalemate. “So, are there many of you?”
Dee shifted in her seat. “You could say that.”
“Have you been here all this time?”
“Yup.”
“I guess the river’s a good location for survival. Water, fish, and it’s a natural barrier too.”
“I suppose.”
“Not very talkative, are you?” he said.
She cast him a sidelong glance. “Would you be spilling your guts to strangers in my position, Mister Nosy?”
Nadia snorted. “I like her.”
Logan laughed. “Yeah, me too. She’s gutsy.”
Dee sighed. “I’m still here, you know.”
“We know, and we’ve arrived,” Logan said, pointing at the gate ahead.
“Well, see ya, and thanks for the ride,” Dee said as she climbed out of the truck.
“Okay. Guess we’re not invited to lunch,” Logan joked to Nadia as Dee slammed the door shut in their faces.
“Guess not,” Nadia agreed.
Logan watched as Dee and Aiden maneuvered the big battery between them and wondered what it was for. A bobbing head appeared beyond the gate, and it swung open, revealing a girl of about eighteen or so with dark hair and pale skin.
Suddenly, Nadia let loose a shrill scream that nearly burst his eardrums and jumped out of the Landie. He watched with surprise as she charged the new girl, waving both her arms like a madwoman. Both Dee and Aiden stood frozen, mouths hanging open in shock.
“What the hell?” Logan muttered as he jumped out, ready for anything.
“Cat,” Nadia cried, throwing her arms around the girl’s shoulders. “Is it really you?”
The girl, or Cat as he guessed her to be, returned Nadia’s glad cries and hug with her own. “Nadia, I can’t believe it’s you. It’s been so long.”
Logan rocked back on his heels, his grip on his rifle loosening. “Well, I’ll be damned. Miracles do exist.”
Once Cat and Nadia stopped screeching like banshees, Dee hustled them all inside, including the Land Rover, and closed the gates. She shot Logan a look. “Guess you’re meeting the folks, after all.”
“Seems like it,” he replied with a shrug.
She led the way toward an old farmhouse situated on the banks of a river, and he paused to take in the scenery. To one side stood an old school bus, its beige paint job old and rusted.
“So that’s what the battery is for,” he remarked to Aiden who’d manhandled the thing onto a waiting trolley.
“Yup. We need to get it going as soon as possible,” Aiden replied.
“Why?” Logan asked, but received no answer as another boy, this one both younger and slimmer jogged over.
“You got it?” the boy asked.
“Yes, we got it.”
“Bout time. You and Dee were gone forever.”
Aiden shot him a sour look. “Back off, Jonathan. We nearly got swarmed on the way back when that stupid car died and wouldn’t start again.”
Jonathan shrugged. “I told you she didn’t have much left in her. It’s why we need the bus. We’re going nowhere without her.”
“Well, she’d better be more reliable than the sedan,” Aiden grumbled.
“She will be,” Jonathan replied with airy confidence.
Logan found the whole exchange quite amusing as he followed them to the house where he was greeted by a cold-eyed woman called Liz.
“I hear you saved Dee and Aiden’s asses? My thanks,” she said, sticking out a hand.
“Saved is a strong word,” Dee mumbled. “I’d say more like assisted.”
Logan snorted. “Yeah, right.”
“You must forgive, Dee. She can be a bit abrasive at times,” Liz said. “Would you like to stay for lunch?”
“Sure, we can stay a while.”
Liz led them to a table on the porch where they sat while the food was served. Cat and Nadia were like conjoined twins, talking non-stop about a bunch of unnecessary crap, in his opinion. Meantime, he was introduced to a growing number of kids and teens until his head was swimming.
“Are you all related?” he asked before taking a big bite of the fresh fish on his plate. It’d been a long time since he had fish, something they must be used to while living on a river.
“God, no, not all. Most of us have our stories and came from our own places of origin,” Liz replied. “Kids, why don’t you tell him a little bit? Just enough so he gets the idea.”
A girl with golden skin and dark eyes went first. He guessed her to be of Italian heritage but wasn’t sure. “I’m Vera, an orphan before all this, and was at ballet practice with Clara here when it all happened. We escaped and met up with Liz and Aiden on the road. They were on their way here thanks to Dee.”
“How so?”
“This used to be my parent’s place. After Aiden and I got separated, I came here,” Dee answered.
“Meanwhile, I met with Danielle, Liz’s daughter, and Nikki. They took me home after I got infected and nursed me back to health. Once I recovered, I came here following Dee. They chose to join me,” Aiden said.
“You were infected?” Logan asked. “Like, by a zombie?”
“Yes.”
Nadia gasped. “Have you…you know, kissed anyone or something?”
Aiden looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Why would you want to know that?”
Dee likewise perked up. “Yeah
, why?”
“Because I got infected too, only I didn’t turn,” Nadia replied.
“Like me,” Aiden said.
“Yes, but when I kissed my boyfriend, he…he turned and killed everyone in our camp.”
“What?” Aiden cried. “That’s terrible.”
Nadia nodded. “I can’t get close to anyone now. I’m a carrier according to Dr. Lange.”
Aiden and Dee exchanged loaded glances. “Well, we’ve kissed, and nothing has happened.”
It was Nadia’s turn to look shocked. “I wonder why.”
“Yes, that’s quite the mystery,” Liz said. “Who’s Dr. Lange?”
“He’s a scientist back home working on a vaccine,” Logan replied.
“Well, I’ll be. What’s your camp like?” Liz asked, leaning forward.
“It’s big, and we do okay,” Logan answered.
“Do you have space for more people?” she asked.
“Why? Do you need a refuge?” Logan countered.
Liz sighed and leaned back in her seat. “We do. This place is being overrun on a daily basis, and we can’t keep up. We were planning on leaving soon.”
“The bus?”
“Yes, it’s already packed and loaded. All we needed was a new battery.”
“I see,” Logan said, scraping his plate clean. “You can come with us as long as you pull your weight. No freeloaders.”
“Oh, we can hold our own. We’ve been doing that for almost a year now,” Liz reassured him. “Cat saved those two kids over there and found this place on her own. Likewise with Jonathan, Ryan, and Kerry, not to mention five-year-old Lucy who survived a whole night in a shop with two zombies. One of them was her own mother.”
“Then it’s settled,” Logan said to the sound of Nadia and Cat’s cheers.
After lunch, they all trooped over to the bus where Jonathan had just finished installing the new battery. With their collective breath held, Liz got in and started the ignition. It roared to life.
“Yes, it works,” she cried.
“I told you it would,” Jonathan crowed.
“When do you want to leave?” Logan asked.
“Tomorrow morning?” Liz asked.
“I guess we could wait until then,” Logan replied, but he was interrupted by the sound of a motorbike revving its engine into the red. “What’s that?”
“That’s Ryan,” Dee replied before running toward the gate. She opened it, and the bike spun inside with a spray of dirt and rocks.
A boy jumped off, tearing the helmet off his head. “Liz, they’re coming.”
“What? So soon?” Liz grew pale underneath her ruddy tan.
“They’ll be here within the hour. Something must have drawn them back,” Ryan said.
“Damn, that changes everything.”
“Who are they?” Logan asked.
“Zombies. We lured them away yesterday to give us breathing room. Usually, it takes them a few days to circle back. Even this morning we made sure to draw off any stragglers in the area.”
“And now they’re back?” Logan asked.
“Yeah, after Cat and I drew off the remnants, I decided to do a last patrol. That’s when I spotted the horde coming back this way,” Ryan said, his face pale.
“How many?”
“Dozens, maybe hundreds,” he said. “Too many to fight.”
“Well, I guess you have no choice,” Logan said.
“Choice?” Liz asked.
“You’ll have to leave now. Follow me back to my place,” he said.
Liz hesitated. “Are you sure your people will take us in? That we’ll be safe?”
“I’m sure, besides, what other option do you have?” Logan asked.
“He’s got a point, guys. Are you in? What do you say?” Liz asked the assembled kids and teens. One by one their hands raised in the air, and an agreement was reached.
“We’ll go.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s give it a shot.”
“Might as well.”
“Do they have cookies?” Lucy asked.
The rest laughed, the tension was broken, and Logan helped them load up the last of their things before leading the way back to the camp. Just in time too. As they drove away, the first undead figure shambled across the horizon in a slow march of death, followed by more and more.
Chapter 11 - Breytenbach
For Breytenbach, it was turning out to be an eventful day. Or rather, a trying one. Not only had Michelle woken him up before dawn with a real murder mystery regarding a bunch of dead chickens, but that afternoon, Julianne came running to him in a panic.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, taking in her flustered appearance.
“Logan just showed up. He went out on a raid with Nadia,” she said.
“Did something happen?” Breytenbach asked, worry filling his breast.
“You could say that. He brought back a school bus filled with kids.” Julianne put one hand to her forehead and paced up and down with restless energy. “Kids, Christo!”
“Really?” Breytenbach repeated. “As in, a whole bus load of children?”
“The bus wasn’t full, and technically, it’s a mixture of kids and teens. There’s a woman with them too.”
“A woman,” Breytenbach said. “Just the one?”
Julianne glared at him. “Focus, Christo.”
He shook his head. “I’m trying, but you’re not making a whole lot of sense.”
She tossed her hands in the air and resumed her pacing. “The upshot of it is, I’ve now got a dozen extra mouths to feed, clothe, and house.” Julianne stared at him, and when he didn’t respond, cried, “What am I going to do?”
“You’ll figure it out, my love. You always do.”
“Really?” She blinked a few times. “That’s all you’ve got?”
He sighed and closed the distance between them, cupping the sides of her face with gentle hands. “Look, I’m sorry, but I’ve got faith in you. You’re strong and capable. I’m sure you’ll sort it out.”
Julianne let loose something between a snort and a laugh. “If that isn’t the most manipulative move I’ve ever seen, then I don’t know.”
Breytenbach’s lips twisted in a rueful grin. “Sorry.”
She sighed. “Stop apologizing. Besides, you’re right. I can handle this.”
“I’m right?” he said, arching an eyebrow. “Really?”
She flashed him a look. “Don’t push your luck.”
He raised his hands. “Don’t worry. I’m not about to poke the slumbering bear.”
“Good.” She turned to leave. “I’ll see you later.”
He watched her leave before turning his attention back to the task at hand: Questioning people. He’d already spoken to Michelle, Nombali, Hannah, and most of the kids. No one had anything new to add to the dead chicken saga. Next up, Ruby.
He found her in the vegetable plots, weeding the plants, and called her aside. “Can I talk to you for a second, please?”
“Yes, Captain.” She ducked her head and waited for his next question, as shy as ever. A hank of reddish brown hair hung across her face, obscuring her eyes.
“Do you know anything about this morning’s event?” he asked.
“You mean the chickens?”
“Yes, I assume you’ve heard about it.”
“I did. It’s terrible. Who’d do something like that?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.” He stared at her, but couldn’t meet her gaze. “So you don’t know anything? You didn’t see or hear something, perhaps?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. I wish I could.”
“Okay, thank you, Ruby. One last thing, where were you last night? I’m just checking, understand? I’m not accusing you of anything.”
“I was sleeping.”
“The whole night? You didn’t take a walk or anything?”
“No, I went to bed around eight and slept through until this mor
ning.” She scuffed a toe in the dirt, still refusing to look him in the eyes.
“You share a room with Nadia and Donya, right?”
She nodded.
“So I can ask them if I wanted to confirm that?”
She nodded again, and for the first time, raised her gaze to meet his. “Am I in trouble, Captain?”
“No, you’re not. This is all routine,” he said, though he found her expression strangely guarded.
“Okay,” she said. Again, she dropped her head, adopting her previous demeanor while plucking at the bandage on her thumb.
“All right, thanks for answering, Ruby.”
“Goodbye, Captain.”
Breytenbach walked away with a thoughtful frown which smoothed away as soon as he found the next person he wanted. “Hi, Lonny. I’d like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind?”
“Sure, Captain,” Lonny replied, turning away from the bushes he was trimming with a pair of hedge clippers. “Have you spoken to my sister yet?”
Breytenbach shook his head. “Not yet. I’ll catch her around supper time. Why?”
“Just asking,” Lonny replied with a disarming grin.
Breytenbach eyed the smiling boy before going through his list of questions again. Did he know anything about the chickens? Did he see or hear anything? Anything at all? The answers were all negative.
“Were you in bed all of last night?” Breytenbach asked toward the end.
“Yes,” Lonny said.
“Can I ask Peter and Thembiso to confirm that?”
Lonny hesitated.
“Lonny?”
“I…actually, I snuck out around eleven, but it wasn’t for the chickens, I swear!” Lonny said.
“Why did you then?” Breytenbach asked with his friendliest manner. “Remember, I’m not here to catch you out, I just want the truth.”
“I went out to meet my sister.”
“Ruby?”
“Yeah, she has trouble sleeping sometimes, so I keep her company until she gets tired.”
“And that’s what you did last night?”
Lonny nodded vigorously. “Yes, we sat and spoke for a while. When she was ready to go to bed, I walked back to her room with her.”
“Then what did you do?”
Children of the Apocalypse: Mega Boxed Set Page 81